The present invention relates generally to the vacuum removal of articles from a vertical stack of the articles, or at some angle to the vertical, and particularly to a single unit device that consecutively and sequentially removes interleaved, alternating first and second articles from a stack of the articles. The invention has particular utility in separating green ceramic cards from sheets of paper employed to separate the cards from each other, though the invention is not limited thereto.
Green ceramic cards are used in a co-fired multi-layer process to manufacture interconnect devices for integrated circuit chips. In making such devices, several layers of the green cards are placed together, aligned, laminated, and then cut into small squares or rectangular shapes, each shape providing a substrate package and carrier for an integrated chip after the carrier is fired and cured.
In processing the cards, the cards are preferably stacked with interleaved sheets of paper to prevent the transfer of any substance from one card, such as metallization, to an adjacent card. Further, if the cards and paper are stacked in an inclined container, the paper has smooth surfaces that assist the cards, which are abrasive, to slide into the lowermost position in the container, thereby aligning the cards and paper in the container. Before the cards can be used in making the interconnects discussed above, the paper sheets and cards must be separated from each other.
Green ceramic cards are also fragile and abrasive, the material of the cards being easily broken and torn. Manual handling and separation of the paper sheets and cards without tearing the cards is difficult, and personnel handling the cards must wear gloves. Gloves are also required to prevent fingerprints in locations where metallization of the card (substrate) surface occurs in the process of providing the card with circuit leads.